It's probably crossed your mind at some point, and maybe you've even run it... The experienced player character/s have effectively retired from adventure and are living in a peaceful kibbutz on the outskirts of Cormyr... for a time they are as happy as a Nam-Vet, fishing and teaching English Lit to the local kids... when danger strikes and they must throw off the guise of the 'friendly Elf chap with the eyepatch' and unleash a maelstrom of violence on some well-deserving super-villians.
I've daydreamed about running such a scenario quite a but, finally the chance has landed in my lap. In a current campaign I'm running for a solo player, they've become so disaffected by the powers that be, that they've escaped to a community outside of society with a very peaceful value set.
Now I'm already having quite a bit of fun, because the NPC's here are so anti-war and anti-authority that the PC is very bemused and un-inclined to reveal their true history as a soldier. However I'd love to be able to run a good few sessions in this peaceful community before it gets raided and the PC's will be forced to start whooping ass. This will get even better because subsequently the PC will learn that a V.I.P. friend is about to be assassinated, and they'll have to journey right back into the heart of the civilisation they hate to rescue them.
If anyone has any ideas for either:
1. Completely non-violent, but worthwhile, role-play activities that can take place in the peaceful community.
or
2. Ideas for raising the drama.
Then please share : ) Thanks
Does this totally peaceful community set any store on undertaking exploration of fears and phobias?
I'd be tempted to set up a series of Shamanistic side quests to test the inner self and resolve any past life issues - completion and cleansing before your guy has to head back to the world of incredible violence he knows so well.
Such tests could be mental rather than physical. Take the drugs, go to the forest, see what you see, or a talk to the guru scenario. The one where the guru in question is giving valuable advice, but only if you ask the right questions first.
On the same principle - endurance challenges? Heat, cold, dark, lack of sleep and so on.
Just typing out loud.
|
...
1. Completely non-violent, but worthwhile, role-play activities that can take place in the peaceful community.or
2. Ideas for raising the drama.
...Thanks
You could try running them through situations similar to those we face IRL: rich guy buys up land and evict the people, Players are facing cash problems, Garden party the players were invited to because they're local heroes and an heiress want's to make an impression on the others, hedge wizard goes missing in the nearby forest, harmless underground cult is seducing the townspeople (if the players are retired, then they should be able to tell that no cult is actually harmless), townspeople are trying to get them to leave due to their being a bad element.
seriously, look up any number of situations either you or the people around you have faced, or pick up a newspaper. great inspiration there for non-violent encounters and situations.
How about a really simple variation...
They've travelled far from home seeking a life where they're not known as the heroes or their former career.
Its really quite peacefeul and idyllic since their new home is more or less so far wthin the borders of an ancient kingdom which has never experienced war or conflict that has penetrated its borders let alone so far behind them.
However the PC's past is catching up with them because a coup is planned and part of their plan involves kidnapping some suitable group of nobles who happen to be travelling through the PC's idyllic neighbourhood.
Now to insure their nefarious plan they've recruited outside help in the form of mercenaries and experienced allies (read someone the PC's know or have crossed their organisation before) and using the guise of a lightning strike by some terrorists from a nearby nation who is to be conveniently blamed for the outrage they make the mistake of attacking whilst the PC is present to notice the action.
The local militia has no experience of handling such a betrayal and in the course of the attack a friend of the PC is hurt or threatened and regrouping the PC eventually realises they have to help their new neighbours deal with this problem using the skills they have tried to forget...
How's that?
Owner - Johnny Scott Comics and Games
|
How about these:
Tornado! The PC must help several families take cover during the storm, then rebuild the damage to the town after the storm passes. Lots of opportunity to bond with several NPCs during this scenario.
Stranger in Town. A stranger arrives in town, and immediately starts asking questions about the local innkeeper. Turns out, the stranger is an old business rival, in town to collect an old debt. The innkeeper cannot pay the debt, and the stranger threatens to take the innkeeper's assets as payment. The innkeeper turns to the PC for help.
Carnival! The carnival is in town, bringing with it a variety of entertainments, a host of pickpockets, and an old flame from the past.
Harvest Time. Autumn is near, and it's time to bring in the crops. The good news: Nature was good this year - record crops all around! The bad news: There is a lack of manpower to bring the crops in.
Coming of Age The mayor's daughter reaches courting age. The mayor has a host of potential suitors lined up, and one in mind for his daughter. Unfortunately, his daughter only has eyes for the PC (despite the age difference).
|
|
How about these:
Tornado! The PC must help several families take cover during the storm, then rebuild the damage to the town after the storm passes. Lots of opportunity to bond with several NPCs during this scenario.
Stranger in Town. A stranger arrives in town, and immediately starts asking questions about the local innkeeper. Turns out, the stranger is an old business rival, in town to collect an old debt. The innkeeper cannot pay the debt, and the stranger threatens to take the innkeeper's assets as payment. The innkeeper turns to the PC for help.
Carnival! The carnival is in town, bringing with it a variety of entertainments, a host of pickpockets, and an old flame from the past.
Harvest Time. Autumn is near, and it's time to bring in the crops. The good news: Nature was good this year - record crops all around! The bad news: There is a lack of manpower to bring the crops in.
Coming of Age The mayor's daughter reaches courting age. The mayor has a host of potential suitors lined up, and one in mind for his daughter. Unfortunately, his daughter only has eyes for the PC (despite the age difference).
Carnival, you say? (sorry, horror has been on my mind a lot lately, what with preperations for the Halloween game starting soon)
I'm kidding. those sound great. real problems affecting normal people. Especially Innkeeper and Coming of Age can be used to amp the drama, and maybe even provide enough of a kick to get them adventuring again. or not. sounds good either way.
|
Owner - Johnny Scott Comics and Games
|
Carnival, you say? (sorry, horror has been on my mind a lot lately, what with preperations for the Halloween game starting soon)I'm kidding. those sound great. real problems affecting normal people. Especially Innkeeper and Coming of Age can be used to amp the drama, and maybe even provide enough of a kick to get them adventuring again. or not. sounds good either way.
Carnival of Tears = one of the best horror modules ever.
Lets not forget:
(1) Funeral for a Friend
(2) Church Fundraiser for new stone Tower
My old PC can't move well anymore with his gimpy leg.
Thanks for these reliably great situations and ideas - as always your input is much appreciated!
|
Only thing I have ever done on this level is having the PC's in a nice peaceful land that abhors violence that gets beset with a plethora of monsters. Say an invasion from the Orc clans united for the first time in living memory who only now have found this peaceful land where no one fights back. they have nothing but disdain for these people who don't know how to defend themselves save for the strangers who were not born into this land.
|
|
We had a GURPS Fantasy game that ran for years, and the regular characters made it up to about 200 pts (starting at 100 pts, and gaining 2-4 pts per game session). I, afflicted with alt-itis, had a mage with about 150 pp, but he held his own, since GURPS mages tend to break down and become overpowered at a certain point...
We retired them for a few years, and played other stuff (like 2E D&D), and later had a 'reunion game.' When the party had last been seen, they'd cleared out a castle on the borderlands that had been used to launch raids into the kingdom, and the local king had gifted the castle to our party to maintain. (Which was more curse than blessing, since we had to fix it up, attract settlers and splash out our own cash on raising a militia...) We spent a few sessions gussying up the castle, outfitting our militia, attracting settlers, etc. and the GM gave us a years worth of 'time-use form' experience (GURPS allows for out of combat skills training and the like), which brought the regular players up to about 240 pts, and then had a big threat to the kingdom come storming in from our direction. Since we'd *built* the darn town, and paid the army, and repaired and expanded the castle (with one mage mastering earth magic just for that occasion), we took the threat to *our* little slice of retirement pretty darn seriously (the players, having worked out the details and drawn up the maps and such, also were invested, not just the characters)!
For me, that's the best way to engage the players. Let *them* design their retirement community, let them build the castle and recruit the NPC experts and craftsmen, hire and train and outfit the local guardsmen / militia and consecrate the chapel and prepare the alchemical laboratories and conjuring rooms and research libraries. Once they've brainstormed their little frontier city-in-the-rough, any threat to it becomes *vastly* more personal than a threat to some other dudes city.